HSBC Global Asset Management and First State Super, a superannuation fund in Australia with over 760,000 members and A$100 billion (US$67.5 billion) in funds under management, have entered into a global equities partnership.

The partnership will see HSBC Global Asset Management manage First State Super’s initial investment of A$500 million within a global multi-factor mandate, as well as the provision of research and modelling support to First State Super’s’ internal investment team.

The terms of the arrangement are unique compared to a traditional partnership between a fund manager and asset owner as there is a clear separation between the investment mandate and research and development (R&D) support.

Whilst run in parallel, each service will maintain independence to enable First State Super’s internal team to receive R&D support in building their own capability in addition to HSBC Global Asset Management meeting the stated mandate objectives.

Geoffrey Pidgeon, head of HSBC Global Asset Management, Australia, says, “We are thrilled that First State Super has entrusted us with such a significant partnership. We believe that arrangements of this type will become a global template for future similar partnerships as asset owners such as First State Super look to build out the capability of their teams.”

Ross Barry, head of systematic and impact investing, First State Super, says, “Having successfully developed an internal systematic investment capability in Australian shares in recent years, we are now focussed on building out this platform to manage part of our international shares. As a result, we have selected HSBC Global Asset Management as our global systematic investment partner, the key being their ability to offer a broader relationship-focussed solution rather than simply a product solution.”

Vis Nayar, deputy chief investment officer for equities and head of systematic strategies, HSBC Global Management, adds, “Client customization and partnerships run at the core of our active systematic investment offering, leveraging our experienced research and portfolio management teams and proprietary resources. We see the interaction between the two firms’ investment teams as a tremendous learning opportunity for each party.”